Kent Exiles 45 v 0 Ipswich Cardinals

British American Football League

THE Kent Exiles all but secured a home play-off game in three weeks with a comprehensive demolition of the Ipswich Cardinals in the British American Football League (BAFL).

They are now likely to be playing the Staffordshire Surge at Crockenhill FC on September 3.

Only some upset results in the final weeks of the regular season would prevent the Exiles from playing in front of their home support, in the search of a semi-final place.

For the first time this season the Exiles played well on both sides of the ball for all four quarters.

And despite a spirited display from the Cardinals, mistakes hit them hard and the Exiles capitalised on every opportunity.

The first touchdown came after Exiles' linebacker Paul Samartin snaffled the ball like a hungry hippo after a Cardinal fumble, allowing a short drive which Jordan Cropper finished off from the five-yard line.

Strong defence, led by Aaron Alexis and Gary Ead, soon had the ball back in Exile hands.

Another drive ensued which quarterback Joel Grundy, on his way to winning the BAFL player of the week award, finished off with a one-yard run.

The Cardinals were still very much in the game at this point and drove down the field looking to get back into the game, only to be thwarted by Michael Turner's first interception of the game.

It was then down to the offence to move once again and this they did behind the running of Stewart Muir, on his way to 181 yards from just 14 carries, who left it to veteran Alan Hands to finish the drive off from the 11-yard line.

This left the score at 18-0 at half-time but the game was far from over.

The Exiles came out strong in the second half and dominated the Cardinals by putting up three touchdowns in quick succession.

Firstly Muir scored a blistering 40-yard touchdown and Grundy followed up with his second, this time from three yards out.

Grundy then went on to hit Sean Starwind from 38 yards and the Cardinals' spirit was broken.

There was one further touchdown from Grundy to Starwind at the start of the fourth quarter, this time from 30 yards out, before the Exiles blooded the full depth of their squad for the remainder of the game.

Exiles head coach James Mitchell said: "We're going into the play-offs in good shape following the two biggest wins of our season.

"The teams in the northern conference are a bit of an unknown quantity but we've a few weeks off now to learn all we can and be ready to play winner takes all football."

For more information on the Exiles, visit kentexiles.co.uk